Pitcher Brenna Nation winds up during the Terps’ doubleheader sweep of Howard on April 23, 2014
With two outs in the fifth inning of Monday night’s series finale between the Terrapins softball team and Notre Dame at Melissa Cook Stadium, catcher Shannon Bustillos drilled a double into right-center field to bring home outfielder Erin Pronobis for the Terps’ first run of the game.
But the Terps wouldn’t sustain their offensive momentum, and outfielder Kylie Datil ended the inning with a strikeout in the ensuing at bat. In the bottom half of the frame, the Fighting Irish held a six-run lead and loaded the bases with two outs for catcher Cassidy Whidden.
Whidden ended the contest when she ripped an RBI single down the third-base line to give the Fighting Irish a 9-1 win — the second time in the series Notre Dame clinched a mercy-rule victory — that sealed a three-game sweep in a matchup televised on ESPNU.
“I don’t think we played very well at all and I don’t know why,” coach Laura Watten said. “They have to be able to go out and fight and be hungry.”
The Fighting Irish jumped on pitcher Brenna Nation early Monday night, just as they did against pitcher Kaitlyn Schmeiser in Game 1 when they scored three runs in the first inning.
Nation retired the first two batters to begin the game, but with two outs, outfielder Emilee Koerner hit a solo home run to left field to give Notre Dame a 1-0 advantage. Koerner finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Nation finished the second inning in the circle, but Watten removed her in the third inning because the pitcher’s hand was cramping and she struggled to find the strike zone.
Watten replaced Nation with Schmeiser, who allowed six hits and four runs in 1.2 innings pitched. Watten said Schmeiser looked better in the bullpen than she has all season and thought the junior could stabilize the Terps in the circle after a rocky start.
“Her pitches were really moving, she was really in sync and she was really in a good place,” Watten said of Schmeiser’s performance in the bullpen. “I had confidence in her in going out and being effective, and when that did not work, it became a gamble.”
With Schmeiser struggling, Watten made her second pitching change of the game and inserted Madison Martin.
And though Martin escaped the inning without any further damage, the sophomore allowed the Fighting Irish to score three runs in the fifth to end the game.
Watten said all three pitchers threw well in the bullpen, but their performance in practice failed to carry over to the game.
“You just expect that they are going to take that performance out onto the field and execute, but that didn’t happen,” Watten said.
Pitcher Briana Winter took the circle for the third time in three games for Notre Dame. In Game 1, Winter threw a complete-game shutout and fanned seven batters in a 9-0 win.
Winter, who is 23-4 on the season, had much of the same success against the Terps last night. The senior allowed one run and six hits in her second complete game of the series.
“She’s a good pitcher,” Watten said. “She gets ahead of batters and when she gets behind, she comes back and fights through it and fights out of it.”
The Fighting Irish provided plenty of run support for Winter by scoring nine runs and putting up 14 hits. In three games, Notre Dame scored 26 runs and belted four home runs, including two by infielder Micaela Arizmendi.
The Terps offense, meanwhile, fell silent when their pitching staff needed them to pick up the slack. And with only one series remaining this season, the Terps pitchers will look to improve in the circle to end the season on a high note.
“Our pitchers struggled and their pitchers didn’t,” Watten said. “Their hitters came out and attacked the ball, and our hitters didn’t. And that’s why the game ended the way it did.”
